Strawberry Yogurt Muffins

After picking up 8 pounds of strawberries from a local farm, I noticed these were the most perfect strawberries I have ever seen.  They had a perfect shape, a perfect stem and were a deep red throughout (no white inside these berries).  My husband wondered what I could possibly do with 8 pounds of strawberries?  Spend a LOT of time experimenting in the kitchen, that's what! 

Balsamic Portobello Mushroom Burgers

I am always looking for tasty vegetarian options for the grill, and these Balsamic Portobello Mushroom Burgers are a definite winner.  The thirsty mushrooms soak up the balsamic vinegar and garlic, yielding an amazing flavor.  Paired with the goat cheese, it is a combination that pleases both non-meat and meat eaters alike. 

Mustard-Rosemary Chicken Skewers

Happy Summer!  'Tis the season for visits to the beach, bike rides, and of course, grilling.  I have several favorite recipes exclusive to the grill, so my anticipation of grilling season rivals that of Christmas.  While I enjoy the reliable stand bys, it is always fun to find new and healthy recipes to add to the favorites.  

Vanilla Bean Roasted Peaches

I was never much of a fruit dessert person. I have always loved fruit. I have always loved dessert. But I loved for my fruit and dessert to be separate. That is until I tried these Vanilla Bean Roasted Peaches.

Cottage Cheese Pancakes

With a toddler, pancakes are a huge hit in this house. They're easy to make ahead and a good finger food for my boy, Adam. Instead of a basic buttermilk pancake recipe, I wanted to find a nutritious protein-packed pancake recipe.  Cottage Cheese Pancakes sounded perfect!

Not only are these Cottage Cheese Pancakes delicious, they smell amazing when cooking on the griddle.  It reminded me of a doughnut or a funnel cake.  But fortunately, these pancakes are a lot healthier than those greasy treats!  They freeze really well too, which makes it easy to have healthy, delicious pancakes on hand at all times!

Adam absolutely LOVES these Cottage Cheese Pancakes, and they have become a household staple. 

Cottage Cheese Pancakes
Yields 20 pancakes

Ingredients
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour (or all-purpose flour)
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 eggs
1 cup cottage cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon honey
Cooking spray (or oil) for the pan

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, whisk together flour and baking powder.  Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk eggs, cottage cheese, vanilla and honey until blended.  Add flour mixture and stir until just combined.
3. Preheat nonstick skillet over medium heat (about 325 degrees) and spray with cooking spray. 
4. Pour batter by the heaping tablespoonful and cook until bubbles start to form and batter looks set at the edges (about 3 minutes).  Flip and cook until set (about 2-3 minutes).

Tip:  These pancakes freeze really well.  I let them cool to room temperature. Then place a waxed paper square between each pancake, wrapped in plastic wrap (or a plastic bag) and then a freezer bag.  I typically bag then in groups of 6-8 so it's easy to pull out a few portions at a time.

Adapted from Weelicious

Radicchio, Spinach, Apricot Salad with Goat Cheese

My husband and I are creatures of habit.  We have a salad with dinner (almost) every night.  It's usually spinach or mixed greens and tomatoes with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese and sunflower seeds.  It's simple.  It's tasty.  It's routine.   

So when I had leftover goat cheese from the Tomato and Leek Frittata with Goat Cheese, I wanted to shake our routine up a bit.  Radicchio, Spinach, Apricot Salad with Goat Cheese became a welcome change from our usual salad.  The creamy goat cheese with the bitter radicchio with the sweet apricots is a combination that is simply a-ma-zing!  

Rosemary Cornbread

One of my favorite springtime activities is planting herbs.  Each Spring, I love thinking about what herbs to buy, what to make with them, etc.  But this year (in Minnesota), I think we skipped Spring altogether.  I swear, we had snow on the ground for at least six (long) months.  Then Summer came in with a bang, and it seemed there was no Spring in between.  It's insane! (or perhaps I am for living here?)

In any case, I have been lax in my herb planning this year. 

Tomato Leek Frittata with Goat Cheese

After taking a bite of this frittata, my husband sat for a minute and then said 'Goat cheese is great, when done in the right way.'  Uh oh...and while I couldn't agree more, I do know he's not as fond of goat cheese as I am.  Fortunately he followed that up by saying 'This way was definitely the right way!' and quickly cleaned his plate!

Grilled Stuffed Jalapeno Peppers

It is not very often that a new recipe immediately leaps way to the top of the list.  But when I saw this recipe in Experience Life magazine, I think my heart skipped a beat with excitement.  I got that 'I just found a recipe that will change your life' feeling.  Cheese, black beans, green onions, garlic and spices, all nestled in a tasty little jalapeno?  Seriously?  Time to fire up the grill!

In fact, I was tempted to simply grab a spoon and eat the filling straight from the bowl.

Sweet and Spicy Barbeque Chicken

Sometimes is pays to be picky.  Or at least to be cooking for picky guests.  I was hosting a summer get together and, by request, was making my "Magic Hamburgers" (a recipe I will share soon).  However I knew one of my guests would not eat ground beef, so I was on a two-fold mission: find something delicious that she will like and find something with ingredients I already have.    

Enter Sweet & Spicy Barbeque Chicken.  Mission accomplished.

Raspberry White Chocolate Muffins

Raspberry season is upon us with a plethera of delicious berries to do with as we wish. 

And I wish for Raspberry White Chocolate muffins.  Seriously.  I have been waiting all year for raspberry season just so I could make them.       

These muffins are definitely one of those muffins.  The kind of muffins that feel like dessert for breakfast...and well....it kind of is.  But there's fruit, so it's totally legit.

Mixed Green Salad with Dried Cherries

I love this salad!  It's simple.  It's elegant.  It's delicious.

What's not to love really.  Mixed greens.  Mustard and red wine vinaigrette.  Sliced red onion.  Sweet dried cherries.  Toasted pepitas. 

Cheese Enchilada Casserole

Truth be told, after the birth of our son, my husband (Mike) and I fell into what some might affectionately call a "dinner rut."  Our dinners were something quick and easy for Mike to whip together while I took care of putting the baby to bed.  And the rotation went something like this: pizza (frozen), pasta (fresh ravioli), Pei Wei (sesame chicken!), and eggs (which later morphed into "p'eggs").  We were tired.  We were hungry.  Sometimes we had pizza 2 nights in a row.  After many many months we were ready for a change.  The baby was older and bedtime a bit more predictable.  It was time to dig into my recipe archives, and the revival of Cheese Enchilada Casserole was born.